Rebuilding shattered tourism

Rebuilding shattered tourism

Rhenald Kasali, Contributor, Jakarta

In 2000, Malaysia succeeded in attracting 10.22 million
international tourists, double the number of foreign visitors to
Indonesia. Many observers believe that Malaysia's success was
particularly due to its impressive and intensive promotional
programs in the international media.

Indonesia, with its vast array of tourist destinations, could
only attract five million foreign tourists, while Singapore,
about as large as Batam island, managed to attract 7.7 million
tourists. Singapore is also known to be launching an aggressive
advertising campaign, along the lines of campaigns by South
Africa, the Maldives, Caribbean countries and other nations.

Their messages are worded with finesse. Thailand offers its
beauty with the slogan, "Amazing Thailand", the Maldives with
"The Sunny Side of Life" and Hong Kong calls itself the "City of
Life". Many countries have also built monuments as visual symbols
of their presence on the world tourism market. Sydney flaunts its
Opera House, Singapore has Sentosa Island, Dubai its Gold Song or
Buy Al Arab, and Paris the Louvre Museum. Other nations rely on
their cultural heritage, like the pyramids in Egypt, the Eiffel
Tower in Paris and the Taj Mahal in Agra.

These countries convey their messages across the globe in ads,
commercials and brochures via the printed media and television,
as well as the Internet.

Is now the right time for Indonesia to launch an intensive
campaign similar to these countries and to adopt a positioning
strategy to be introduced throughout the world? Nearly everyone
involved in the Indonesian tourist industry is eager to see an
immediate promotional drive by the government, so that tourists
who canceled their visits after the Bali tragedy will return to
the country to boost the industry.

In fact, tourism campaigns cannot just be launched without
first preparing all of the elements of the country's tourist
industry. Without thorough preparation, the messages could
backfire and cause the country to be totally deserted.

Before a major tourism campaign can begin, at least five myths
about the country first must be corrected, namely those of
security, products, marketing means, major players and main
market targets.

Everybody says Indonesia is not a secure place. But when the
security apparatus is asked to confirm this, no definite answer
can be given. Security authorities maintain that they cannot work
alone because security also has to do with the political
situation. To the security agencies, security means stability.
The atmosphere of insecurity is marked by demonstrations, rioting
and terrorism.

Though terrorism and political issues are always referred to
in international news reporting, tourism is inversely related to
criminality. Therefore, before launching a tourism campaign the
security apparatus should lower the crime rate covering robbery,
rape, fraud and drug abuse.

The second myth involves the means of marketing. Some people
believe in the importance of ads. But ads can only be put out
when the products offered are ready to sell and sell well. Just
ask tourists who have visited Borobudur Temple.

Will they encourage their friends to go there? Perhaps not:
it's hot, dirty, no toilets or garbage cans can be found,
incoming visitors must fight through those leaving and hawkers
are pushing their goods. Or try to see Bali's Pura Besakih shrine
and cross over to the open tombs of Trunyan. What experience do
you gain? We must ask ourselves whether we are really prepared to
campaign for these beautiful products.

Products are the third myth. We frequently consider natural
attractions as tourism assets. Actually, tourists want both
natural surroundings and entertainment, which can range from the
sound of running streams, songbirds, dances.

Fourth, there is the myth of major players. Those playing a
major part in the tourist industry are not the investors who
build hotels, malls, recreation centers, transportation
facilities, etc. Instead, they are big communities comprising
ordinary citizens, traditional groups, regional administrations,
security institutions, etc. They all have to be actively involved
in designing tourism products and maintaining them.

Lastly, market targets have also become a myth. It is often
assumed that foreign tourists are the main target of the tourist
industry. This is a mistake. Data from the World Tourism
Organization show that domestic tourists make up the majority of
the industry, almost reaching 80 percent. Why do Jakartans prefer
Bangkok, Penang and Singapore to Lombok, Bunaken, Ngarai Sianok
and Lake Toba? It is because these regional attractions are
better promoted here than our own attractions. Why not the
reverse?

Tourism promotions are important, but it is far more
imperative to dispel all these fallacies before launching any
overseas marketing drive. Wonderful and safe products with the
support of their communities will eventually sell themselves.